Improvement in cranes



J. W. MIDDLETON.

CRANE.

No. 112,829. Patented Mar. 21, 1871.

timidi Snat .aar offra JOHN W`.'MIDDLETON, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 112,829, dated March 21, 1871.

.|MPRovEMENT IN cRANEs.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent und making part f the name.

I, JOHN W. MIDDLETON, of the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Traveling Cranes, ot' which the following is a specication.

Nature and Objects of the Invention.

My improvementsrhave a general relation to those traveling cranes operated by-steam or other power upon the supporting-carriage, for the lifting and con;4 voyance of heavy or bulky articles from one place to l another; and

The first part of my invention relates to a horizontally-swinging crane-bar, supported and operated'exclusively by over-head attachments, the object of this part of -my invention being to allow clear and unobstructed thereby thc whole area of thatvportion of the "or bridge above, or supported upon eudwalls or adjustable columns, in such a manner as to leave clear and unobstructed thereby the whole area of the ground or door which may he within the extreme limits of the crane-bar and carriage upon any part ofthe track'- rails, the object of this part of my invention being to adbrd facility for hoisting, carrying, and depositing heavy or bulky articles from one place toanother, as

in unloading ships and conveying the articles to the adjacent store-houses without obstruction frein incnmbrauces of any kind on the wharf; in the elevation, conveyance, and deposit oi' large or heavy masses of either melted or solid bodies ofiron. steel, or other metals in furnaces and foundries; and in the elevation and conveyance of marl from the from the mines, tc. p

The third part of my invention relates to the combination of deeply-grooved rim-wheels on euch side of the car, in combination, respectively, withl a rail or rails so constructed as to aford au upper and a. lower track for said wheels, the object ot' this part of my invention being to afford ample strength and protection against any separatiolof the respect-ive trackrails or displacement of the carriage on the said trackrails by the consequent canting tendency of the carriage from the weight lifted or carried along thereby beside the said track.

' 'The fourthpurtof my mvention relates to an upper and a lower circular track-rail ou the bottom of the carriage, in combination with a corresponding supporting and a friction-wheel on opposite sides' oi' a central pits, mineral ores hollowbolt, around which the said crane-bar swings horizontally, the object of this part of my invention being to support the crane-bar securely in the required horizontally-swinging position beneath the carriage when the said bar is heavily loaded.

The fth part of my invention relates to the combination of a downward-projecting toothed cylinder with th'under side of the crane-bar concentrically in relation toits turning-bolt, and with a correspondingly- .toothed pinion on a shaft extending horizontally backward ou the carriage, so that it may be operated byany suitable power on the said carriage, the, object of this part of my invention beingw to. enable the attendant,

by hand or steam-power on the carriage, to.give rotary motion tc the said pinion, and, consequently, the rebar.

The sixth part oi' my invention relates to the combination, with the toothed cylinder on "the under side of the crane-bar, of a grooved friction-pulley and bearing, projecting from near the central bolt downward below the said toothed cylinder, and a suitable fric- .tion-pulley near the open upper end-of the said-bolt,

the object 'of this part of my4 invention-boing to allow the crane-har to swing around nearly in a complete circle by causing the burden-chain or rope of the crane-bar to pass up through the long, hollow turningbolt, and thence to the operator on thc carriage, without interfering with' the required swinging motion of the crane-bar.

' The seventh part of myinvention relates to a travcling crane-carriage, provided with any suitable steamgenerator and operating engine, iu combination with a bridge ortruss-frame provided with track-rails, and supported upon end walls, and, when uecessarybyad justable columns below, or both together, the object of this part of my invention being to alibi-d powerful f: cilities for the lifting, carrying, and depositingof bulky or heavy articles from one place to another, as at marlpits, ore-mines, and especially in the lifting and movement of large vessels containing melted iron, steel, or other meta-ls from the furnace of iron, steel, or other metal works, to any distant part of the ground or door I ofthe building connected with the saine! Description of the Accompanying Drawing.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, having the near side of the supporting-bridge or truss-frame and its track-rail removed, the far side being a section of the length of the same.

Figure 2 is an .end elevation, with the 'supporting truss-frame or bridge and track-rails in tranlisveise Section.

quired horizontal swinging motion to the loaded craue-j` Figure 3 is a plan view of the under side of thc uppan-uns.

` work a' and the usual cross-tics v 'v of the roof of the building, in such a manner as to aiford a sntciently elevated aud substantial rail-track bridge from one end tothe other,'along near the middle of the building. In very long` buildings suitable adjustable or readily-removable columns are intended to be used, also, as supports, when necessary.

llhe carriage G is supported and secured to roll upon the track-rails B B by means of a suticient number of deeply-grooved wheels, c' c",the grooves in the said wheels and the form of the track-rails B B being respectively constructed and arranged t-o operate in such a manner that, while the tread of the grooves in the lower series of wheels c" c" roll upon the lower faces of the track-rails B B, the tread of the grooves in the upper series of wheels c' c' will just clear the upper faces of the same rails, and 'vice versa, the flanges of both series of the said wheels at the same` time preventing the possibility of the lat-tex" running olf the track, of any approach toward or separation from each other ofthe track-rails B B, and of any undue canting 'or tilting ofthe car O during the movements or operation oft-he sameand its attachments.

The distance apart of the sills a" a", and, consequently, of the rails B B, is intended to he from three to ten feet, more or less, or in accordance with 'the burden intended to be suspended from the crane-bar.

The crane-har D swings around a hollow bolt, d', `which passes upward through it from the center of the lower end of a cylinder provided with a. 4surrounding [double or a combined upper and lower track-rail, d",

and firmly secured io the.'- under side ofthe carriage' C.

Secured to the shorter end of the crane-bar D is a grooved pulley, 3, which bears upward against the lower-,part ofthe circular rail d", while. another grooved pulley, 4, which is secured to the upper side of the 'crane-bar D, bears downward upon the upper part of the salue circular rail d", and thus the two said pulleys or track-wheels, being made adequate in strength, support'the bar D securely in a horizontally-moving position beneath the car C, the pulley 3 acting as a Vfriction-wheel, and the pulley 4 acting as the supporting-wheclof the longer arurof the craue-bar D and its burden, 'while the hollow bolt d serves as its turning or swinging point and keeps,the. said bar dialnetric-ally across the circular track-rail d".

To the underside of the crane-bar D, at a part directly beneath the circular track-trail l, there is fixed a vertical cylinder, 5, having fixed around its lower cud a toothed wheel, into which gears `a pinion, 7, on a shaft, 8, which shaft extends backward into any suitable ca1-l.\ox'or station, 0 on the carriage where it is intended to he operated to give the required swinging motions to the crane-bar D by hand or steam-power located on the said carriage.

Ifpreferred, the swinging mot-ions ofthe bar I) may be given'by means of a chain or rope passingarouud in the groove 9 of `the cylinder 5, and thence around any suitable cylinder (not shown) operated in the carbox.or station c" by the same power.

The burden-chain or rope E passes from any suitable winding-cylinder (not shown) operated by the power in the box or station-0' to a grooved pulley, '10,

i lasse located iustabove the upper cud of the hollow bolt fl', thence down through the. latter and under a groove-d pulley, 1l, which is located at `the lower Vend ot' tho. said hollow bolt il', thence over the pulley l2 in the crne-bar D downward to the burden which is to be lifted or moved, or (for very heavy burdens) to any tackle between.

rlhe carriage C is intended to be moved along backward or forward ou the rail-tracks B B by mean of a belt-rope or chain around a cylinder (not shown) ou the carriage, and operated by a cylinder (not shown) in the car-box or station c', or in the same manner as a steam-locomotive on an ordinary track.

As a. modification of the track-rails B B, cach may be made in the form shown intl". 4, in which case only a single series of the grooved wheels c will be re- .qnired for each side of the car O, because the said wheels are placed between the upper and lower projecting parts of the track of the respective `rails B", ii f. 4.

zThe ends of the truss-frame or bridge A may rest directly upon rollers (not shown) on the end walls of 'the inclosing building, so that the whole apparatus may be moved together laterally, if desirable, at any time.

It will now be understood without further description that this apparatus will afford great facility for lifting and moving from place to place ou the ground or door within its compass bulky or heavy burdens of any kind, as in the elevating of marl, ores, dsc., from the pits, or merchandise from ships or store-houses, and moving the same over obstacles between the pit, ship, or store-house and the place of deposit, and especially in the lifting and carrying large masses of solid metal, or large vessels containing, say, from five to ten tous,` Inoue.

hearth, pool, or refining-vessels of a furnace to any part of the ground or floor of the building for casting the metal in flasks or molds, and all without the exposure of the workmen, as heretofore, to the intense heat of such large bodies of hot metal.

The operator, standing in the box or station on the car C, it is intended shall have full control of the movements of the same on the track-railsB B, and of the crane-bar D,.and burden-rope or lchain E, so that the operations to he accomplished may be effected by him with facility and at a safe and secure distance from the said burden, its source, and its depository,

steel works embodying the processes and apparatus vfor manufacturing iron and steel, in all their different stages, direct from the ore by one continuous heat, as described and set forth in my previous patents in relation thereto.

D is a secondary crane-bar, intended to be operated by hond when required.

Claims.

inner sides of the bottom sills fr a" of an elevated bridge or truss-frame, A, substantially as and for thc purposes hcrcinbeibrc set forth. I

3. The conibnation'of a series`ofldeeply-growled rim-wheels on'each sido of the carriage? (J with a cor-` responding track-rail or rails fixed ou the inncr sides ul' the sills of the bridge or truss-frame A; the said or less, of melted iron, steel, or other metalsfrom the.

results of the highest importancein any-iron "and ported upon suitable track-rails B l, secured along?, the

parts being arranged to operate together substantially as and for the purposes hereinben'e set forth and described.

4. The circular double-track rail rl" on the bottom of the carriage C, in combination with the wheels 3 and 4 on the crane-bar D, and the central bolt fl',"the

said parts being,r arranged to operate together snbstan- Y tially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

, 5. The combination ofthe circle of teeth 6 with the under side of the crane-bar D, supported as described, and with the operating-pinion 7 on the shaft 8, the said parts being arranged to operate together substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth and described.

6. The pulley-wheels 10 and 11 in combination with the hollow bolt d', the toothed cylinder 5, and. the burden-rope or chain IE, the said parts beingr arranged Witnesses:

BENJ. MoRIsoN, WM. H. MomsoN. 

